


The Camping Trip

by TheyCallMeTrev (wrasslesmut)



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Eventual Smut, F/M, Kaidan wants to go camping, Post Destroy Ending, Shepard just wants the Council to leave her alone for twenty minutes, Sole Survivor (Mass Effect), Spacer (Mass Effect)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-02-22 00:10:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13155003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrasslesmut/pseuds/TheyCallMeTrev
Summary: Shepard has never gone camping and Kaidan wants to fix that.Neither of them realize just what they're getting into.Rated for language and smut in later chapters.





	1. The Proposition

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is short and kinda dialogue-heavy, but once the vacation actually starts the chapters will be longer.

He’s wanted to go camping since they settled in Vancouver, and he knows that he’s brought it up to her on a few different occasions but he never followed up on them actually going. He knew that she had been born and raised in space, and accepted that there would be many differences in their upbringings, but after the life she’d had camping  _ had _ to be right up her alley. 

But the look he got when he asked if they could finally go was not what he was expecting. 

Confusion was the most obvious, but she also looked nervous (which was definitely not something common in his fiancee). She gave a small smile as she tucked an auburn strand of hair behind her ear, bottom lip pulled between her teeth as jade green eyes tried their hardest to not make proper eye contact with him. But that wasn't going to work for him.

“Frankie?”

“I don’t really know what camping is, Kaidan.” Her admission was so quiet, he almost didn’t hear her. But he now understood why she was so nervous. Francesca Shepard did not like admitting that she didn’t know something, even when it came down to trivial things like camping. “I kept meaning to look it up on the extranet but I also kept forgetting to and- don’t give me that look, Kaidan Alenko.” 

“I’m not giving you a look, sweetheart, just putting the pieces together.” He assured, watching her take another drink of her beer before she went back to cutting bell peppers for dinner. “Well, you had to do that long survival exercise for your N7 training, right?”

“That was part of it, but I doubt we’ll have limited air supply in Canada.”

“True, but think of that as extreme camping.” 

“Are you trying to make me  _ want _ to go, or…?” She trailed off, eyebrow raised as she continues to prepare their dinner. “Where would we even camp?”

“There are so many forests nearby, honey,” Kaidan informed, sitting up a bit straighter in the stool since he felt that he was making progress with her. “Or we have the house on the bay, we can camp by the water?”

“Why not just go to the house and stay in it?” She asked, setting the knife down and leaning against the counter. “We could do campy things all day and then sleep in a warm house.” 

“Yeah, but there’s something extremely satisfying about roughin’ it out in the wilderness,” He shrugged, finishing off his own beer and meeting her gaze. “Cooking food over a fire, sleeping under the stars, getting away from all the technology and work that seems to  _ love _ interrupting our time alone. Does none of that seem interesting to you?”

“It all sounds lovely Kaidan, and I’d love to give it a shot-” 

“I sense a ‘but’.” 

“ _ However _ ,” She continues with a smirk. “The galaxy would implode without the two human Spectres on call.” 

“I think they’d manage a week without us.” Kaidan comments, the look in his eyes much too hopeful for her to say no to him. “Frankie, please. It doesn’t  _ have _ to be camping, but a vacation before the wedding wouldn’t hurt anything.” 

“You honestly had me at ‘getting away from technology’, but one condition.” 

“Name it.” He smiles, but she can’t see it because she’s bent over in the cupboards looking for something. He’s appreciating the view her jeans give him, and knows that he’s been caught when she turns to face him with a frying pan in hand and the knowing look in her eyes. 

“We take two weeks off and half of it is spent indoors. How we spend the other half is up to you.” She demands, pointing the pan in his direction before she sets it down on the stove top.  

“Much more reasonable than I expected.” He comments, moving from his seat at the island to stand behind her at the stove.

“Just what were you expecting?” 

“I was expecting having to be shirtless or naked for most of our time camping.” 

“Damn,” She mutters under her breath, leaning her head back on his shoulder. “Is it too late for me to add to my demands?”

“It definitely is,” He chuckles, pressing a kiss to her temple . “But I will make this the best camping trip of your life.” 

“Seeing as you have literally no competition, I would certainly hope so.” 


	2. Just the Beginning

“What’s the game plan, Spectre Alenko?” She asks, looking up at her fiance with a smile as he leads her to the front door of their home on the English Bay. He simply shrugs as he unlocks the door, letting her enter first before grabbing their suitcases and pulling them into the house. 

“Well, Spectre Shepard, we have two weeks. Five of those fourteen days will be spent living in a tent; but we’ll spend a couple days preparing and the time after our camping trip will be spent in the house and, hopefully, minimally clothed.” He explains with a smile, gesturing to the living room where she can see the bags for a tent and a couple chairs surrounded by various other boxes that look like they’d be important in some way for their camping trip.

“‘A couple days to prepare’?” She comments, eyebrow raised in pure skepticism as she looks up at him. “Sounds a lot like you’re trying to butter me up before we’re actually camping.”

“I know you better than anyone, Frankie. You have to actually relax before you’re truly open to trying new things.”

“I’m relaxed right now.” 

“After that lovely conversation we had with the Council?” He asks, not needing to look down at her to know that she has that resigned look on her face that tells him that he’s right. “When the first thing you say after logging off is ‘that’s probably going to get me stripped of my Spectre status’, you know it was a rough talk.”

“Okay, so maybe I’m a little stressed.” She sighs, stepping away from her fiance and heading towards the living room. “But before you can soak in being right, can you tell me what all this stuff in the living room is?” 

They spend the next hour with a datapad in hand, Kaidan taking inventory of what they have and explaining to Shepard why they have it while he does. From there the two sit and make checklists that Kaidan felt were necessary, sorting out what should be in Shepard’s bag versus what should be in his. He was surprised to see her so invested in this, but figured that this was because when she took on any sort of new experience that she wanted the  _ full _ experience. Boring equipment lists were included in the full experience.

It’s when she feels her stomach rumble that she pulls away from him, murmuring in his ear about ordering dinner for the two of them. He nods, watching her omnitool as she cycles through their favorite restaurants in the area and picks one, quietly giving his order to her and giving one last glance to the datapad before he sets it down beside him and lies back on the floor. He feels her curl up against him and tell him that their food will get there in half an hour, but the only response he gives is a gentle pat to her side and she accepts it by patting his chest. 

“We should get a dog.” 

“We’re too busy for a dog, Frankie.” He shuts down her idea, kissing her head. “When one of us actually retires, maybe.”

“I retired from active duty with the Alliance.” 

“Yes, but you’re still a Spectre with a full ship and crew at your command.” He reasons, looking down at her when she sits up a bit. “Just last month you jumped at the chance to go raise hell with Grunt once a couple relays were rebuilt.”

“I’m his battlemaster, it’s kinda my job.” She argued, smirk on her face as he rose an eyebrow. “Besides, we got to hold krogan babies. So many tiny Shepards.” 

“And they’re all going to grow up to be just as destructive as the legend they’re named after.”

“The krogan can only hope.” 

* * *

A couple days later, Shepard wakes up half an hour before their alarm. Kaidan’s arm is lazily slung across her back, fingertips brushing against her side with every breath she took. She truly was happy; knowing that there wasn’t an intergalactic crisis dependent on her intervention, nobody was actively trying to kill her, and there weren’t any regs (that she ignored anyway) keeping Kaidan out of their bed. She got to lay with the love of her life and enjoy that they were both very much alive with nothing trying to keep them apart.

She knew their schedule for the day, having repeated it mentally since Kaidan had sent it to her omnitool yesterday afternoon. The only time she wasn’t reciting the order of ‘breakfast, pack up the car, drive to the campground, hike to the campsite, unpack and get our bearings, lunch, adventure, dinner, TBD’ was when she was heavily distracted by her fiance and the wonderful things he managed to make her feel with his biotics. She honestly had no complaints with the itinerary he had put together, but she did have one problem: 

She didn’t want to remove herself from the bed. 

Getting out of bed meant removing herself from Kaidan, and that was something she really didn’t want to do despite the fact that they weren’t racing against the clock anymore. They had time, and she knew that, but she wanted to spend as much time as she could with Kaidan. 

“You’re thinking way too hard for seven in the morning,” Kaidan mumbles, to which Shepard lets out a small hum before turning her head to face him. “What’s on your mind?”

“How badly I don’t want to leave this bed,” She admits with a tired smile, her body growing warm when he lets out a tired chuckle at her admission. “And how badly I wish we could stay like this forever.” 

“We have forever, Frankie,” He whispers, bringing his hand up from her hip to push her hair back. “But we also have a campsite rental with our names on it, and I’d rather not waste our hard earned money.”

“Way to spoil the moment,” Shepard scoffs, gently pushing against his chest to get away from him but instead was pulled against him as he rolled onto his back. “Kaidan!”

“I love you too.” He laughed, kissing the top of her head before releasing her so she could roll off of him. “Do you want the shower first while I start breakfast, or would you like to start breakfast?” 

“Or, here’s an idea: we shower together and you can make breakfast after?” She suggests as she stands from the bed, taking a moment to stretch her nude body before looking over her shoulder at him. “What do you say, Mr. Alenko?” 

“I say that’s an excellent idea, Miss Shepard.” He gives a lazy grin as he props himself up on his elbows, watching as she heads towards the ensuite bathroom. “Get the water started and I’ll be in there in a minute.” 

“Better be quick, or I’ll get started without you.” 

“You wouldn’t dare!” He calls after her, loving how happy her laughter sounded. It was so genuine, so light and untroubled, and he was more than just elated that he got to be the man to make her laugh like that for the rest of their lives together. 

* * *

“So we’re parking the car here for five days?”

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Are you’re not worried about it getting stolen?” 

“Shepard, honey, this is Canada.” Kaidan chuckles, watching her adjust the straps on her pack to fix how they sat on her shoulders. “If I was concerned, it wouldn’t be here.” 

“You’re right,” Shepard sighs, raising her hands and smiling when he takes them in his. “And you’re the boss, Spectre Alenko.” 

“Of course there’s nobody around to hear you admit it.” He muttered, smiling when she let out a small giggle as he released her hands. “But we’ve got to get moving.”    
“Lead the way.” 

He does so with a smile, taking her hand in his as they start down the trail. They’re talking and laughing, occasionally taking pictures together until they made it to the campground. 

She takes a solid look around, appreciating the trees surrounding the patch of land and the privacy they’d provide her and Kaidan. There was a large grill already at the site, making the tiny camping stove Kaidan bought look like a children’s toy. But there wasn’t a restroom of any kind, which meant that she wasn’t going to have a functional toilet or shower and that Kaidan wasn’t lying when he said they’d be ‘“roughin’ it”. 

“You’re thinking,” Kaidan comments with a smile, knowing that there was never a time when Shepard  _ wasn’t _ thinking. “What’s on your mind?”

“There’s no bathroom.” She takes a deep breath, exhaling as she took off her pack and set it down. “Kaidan, what the fuck?” 

“Is it needing to squat to pee or the lack of a shower for five days that has you more troubled?” 

“I can handle not showering, there’s a body of water nearby.” She gestures in the general direction of the lake he had told her about. “But having to squat to pee without a sidearm to pull should anything funny happen has me a bit uneasy.” 

“I’ll stand guard when you pee if it’ll make you feel better?” 

“It does, actually. Thoughtful man.” She grins, throwing her arms around his neck. “But don’t peek, I’m not sure if we’re at that point in our relationship yet.” 

“I’ve seen you covered in blood, and potentially your own insides, but I can’t look in your direction as you pee?” He asks with an arched brow, amusement clear in his features as she released him in favor of walking the perimeter of their campsite. “May I ask why?”

“It’s pretty intimate,” She shrugs, looking back to see his omnitool out and pointed in her direction. “Wouldn’t want you seeing my lady bits.”

“Can’t have that at all,” Kaidan plays along, finally setting his pack down. “People might question your purity.” 

“I can already hear al-Jilani’s report: ‘ _Captain Shepard: Sole Survivor, Spectre…. Harlot_?”

“You can just punch her again,” He suggests as she finishes her perimeter check, looking up just in time to see her smile. “She seems to think that she can take you now that you’ve retired.” 

“Nobody has the heart to tell her that I can still go toe-to-toe with you and Vega?”

“She doesn’t realize that gyms still exist down here, and you spend half of your free time at the gym.” 

“She should really do better research. Anyways, should the tent go four meters away from the grill?” Shepard asks, pointing to where she thought it would go. Kaidan hummed as he knelt down beside his pack to unstrap the tent, looking over to where she was pointing to get a visual. “Or maybe five, right up against the treeline?” 

“Which would make you more comfortable?” 

“I don’t have a preference, which is why I’m asking you.” She countered, looking back at him with smirk. “You’re the boss, boy scout.” 

“Fair enough. Let’s go with five, since I know space between you and the perimeter makes you nervous.” 

“You know me so well, I wasn’t even thinking about that.” 

“It’s what I do,” He says as he lays out the tent, tossing a couple spikes that she catches effortlessly. “You’ve dealt with a tent before?”

“Not unless it the one in your pants counts,” She grins, to which he shakes his head. “I’m  _ very _ familiar with that one.”

“And I’m glad you’re on such great terms, however that isn’t going to help you here.” He stands straighter, instantly commanding her full attention and moving around to stand beside her. “We’ll go step-by-step.”

Shepard followed instructions well, so he wasn’t too concerned with that part. She was also strong as hell, so staking down the tent in the ground that was tougher than he expected came with no issue. Putting the tent poles together and inserting them to raise the tent was also pretty simple despite Shepard being much shorter than the tent. It was when she stepped inside the tent that he grew worried.    
She was quiet as she stood in the middle of the tent, slowly turning in a circle as she took it in. Her eyes were critical, a gentle hand pulling at the strap holding the skylight cover in place. Fingers gently dragged along the mesh of the skylight before she moved the two steps to uncover the tent’s “window”, the whole time she was very fixated on her task. Kaidan wasn’t sure if she was trying to gain some bearings or if she was trying to find some safety issue with the two openings. 

“Shep?” 

“It has a skylight,”

“Yeah, I thought it was a nice touch,” He shrugs from where he’s seated at the entrance to the tent, his eyes carefully watching her sit down in front of him. “Does it bother you? Because it doesn’t have to be open if you don’t want it to be.” 

“But you want it to be open?” 

“It’d be nice at night for some stargazing, but I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” He stands from his seat to enter the tent, reaching out to take her hand in his.

“It doesn’t make me uncomfortable, Kaidan,” She starts, looking up at the mesh on the ceiling of their tent. “It’s, uh- it’s nothing major, but it doesn’t make me uncomfortable. Stargaze away, babe.”

He only smiled before kissing her forehead, knowing that he wasn’t going to push her on the topic. Pushing her never got him anywhere, and that wasn’t going to change just because they were in what felt like the middle of nowhere for the next five days. 

“We’re talking about this later, aren’t we?” Shepard asks, and Kaidan shrugs as he exits the tent. 

“Whenever you want to, Frankie,” He responds, and she follows after him with a small smile. “We’ve still got some shit to unpack.” 

“I’ll handle sleeping bags, is anything else staying in the tent?” 

“Just our clothes and bags, but those can go in once everything else is set up.” 

“Aye aye, sir.” She salutes him with a grin, to which he gives her an “at ease” before gently swatting her bottom as she turns to walk towards her bag. 

The two work around each other in the campsite for the next half an hour, Shepard focusing on making sure their tent is taken care of while Kaidan focuses on everything else. He’s just finished with stashing emergency knives in various places when she calls him to the tent and he smiles when he sees her laying on their sleeping bag. 

“Look good?”

“Couldn’t have done it better myself,” He praises, easing down beside her on the sleeping bag. She mumbles something skeptical, which has him frowning before he peppers her face in gentle kisses. “I’m serious, Shep, you did good.” 

“Thanks, Kaidan,” She mumbles, accepting his loving kiss on the lips before nuzzling her nose against his. “But what’s for lunch?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty new to writing Mass Effect stuff, so if anybody who's reading this wants to leave some feedback/constructive criticism please do so!


	3. Lake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Y’know,” He breathes as they separate, leaving only centimeters of space between their mouths as she smiles down at him. “If I loved you any less, I’d drop you right now.”

Kaidan wakes up as the sun starts to rise, Shepard sleeping soundly on his chest, and he can’t help but smile as he looks up at the ceiling of their tent. The skylight was covered, despite her numerous assurances that she didn’t care about it being open or not, and he reached up in an attempt to open it even though he knew his arm was much too short to be able to reach. So he went for second best, reaching over to uncover the window so he could watch the sun rise. He’s tempted to wake Shepard for it, but knows that they have plenty of time to watch the sun rise while they’re on their trip so he opts to let her keep sleeping. 

She shifts slightly, moving to lay beside him rather than on him and he pulls himself out of the sleeping bag and pulling on shorts and a t-shirt before he goes to start breakfast. His thoughts drift back to the skylight and his fiancee’s obvious issue with stargazing, and he can’t help but wonder if it was somehow related to her lifetime spent in the stars. It definitely wasn’t a fear of any kind if it was related to that, because she loved the stars despite her history with them. 

“Kaidan, stop, that tickles,” He heard her mumble, bringing a smile to his face because she was dreaming about him. “Seriously, babe, stop.” 

“Not doing anything, Shepard,” He called to her, stirring their eggs with a chuckle until he heard her frantically shuffling. 

“Then what in the  _ everloving fuck  _ is on me!?” She screamed, and Kaidan rushed back into the tent to see her sitting up and trying to reach something on her back. 

“Honey, calm down and move your hands,” He instructed, but she didn’t stop running her hands over her body until he swatted the spider off her back. “It’s off of you.” 

“What was it?” 

“Spider,”

“I hate this place.” She muttered, pushing her hair back as he smiled at her before backing out of the tent. “Were any on you?”

“Nope,”

“I fucking hate this place,” She grumbles, and he chuckles as he listens to her shuffling in the tent. “Lake today, yeah?”

“Yep, and it’s a bit of a hike.” He gives his warning as he puts a couple strips of bacon down on the pan. 

“You didn’t say there would be so much exercise involved in camping,” Shepard comments, and Kaidan can’t help but shake his head as she emerges from the tent and stretches. “Don’t shake your head at me, I transitioned to a primarily sedentary lifestyle after I retired.” 

“With a five-day gym schedule?” 

“Keyword being: ‘ _ primarily’ _ .” 

“Yeah, okay.” Kaidan chuckles, to which Shepard rolls her eyes as she steps closer to the grill. “Can you take over here so I can start the coffee?”

“You got it.”

* * *

It’s a twenty minute hike to the lake and Kaidan uses that time to assess how well Shepard is adjusting to outdoor living. The spider incident, as comical as it was to him, reminded him that she didn’t have to deal with small spiders and other bugs running about because she grew up on starships and space stations.  _ Small _ insects weren’t really a thing in space for her, and the ones that were “small” by her standards were the rachni that were large enough for her to shoot. But, now that he’s thought about her, she had a sharp eye so she probably could have shot an insect around the size of the spider that was on her that morning without question.

“I take back what I said about hating this place but I hate bugs so much Kaidan.” She shudders a bit as she speaks and Kaidan can’t help but smile as he gives her hand a gentle squeeze. “We bought insect repellent right?” 

“It’s a mosquito repellent but it should help keep the others away,” He shrugs, to which she gives a slow nod. “I’ll spray you down when we get back.” 

“What would I do without you?”

“You’ll never find out,” He assures with a grin, not faltering when she teasingly calls him a cheeseball just loud enough for him to hear it. “How’d you sleep?”

“I wasn’t sure about the support provided by the sleeping bag and the pad underneath but it was surprisingly very comfortable.” She gives her review, stretching her neck a bit as she does. “I didn’t have a single kink anywhere in my body, so I’m pretty impressed. You were up before me, though. How’d you sleep?” 

“Always sleep well when I get to sleep next to you-” 

“I don’t think we brought wine on this trip so I need you to tone down the cheese-”

“ _ And,”  _ He continues, pushing a low hanging branch from in front of his face and smiling at the view of the deserted lake. “I woke up to the sunrise and it was beautiful, then I looked down at my fiancee and she was gorgeous.” 

“You didn’t wake me up for the sunrise?”

“You looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to ruin it.” 

“Fair point,” She sighs, watching as he sets his backpack down by the edge of the water and takes a blanket out before spreading it out on the grass. She’s quick to flop onto it, eagerly taking off her hiking books and socks while her t-shirt follows soon after. "You should definitely wake me up next time."

“That’s a new swimsuit,” 

“Yeah, I got it after I agreed to camping because I figured there’d be some sort of water involved.” She lies back on the blanket and Kaidan’s chest swells at the thought of her and all the beauty that is Francesca Shepard being his wife-to-be. “Whether or not I’ll actually get  _ in _ the water remains to be seen, though.” 

“Oh really?” He asks, taking off his shirt and dropping it onto her head. 

“Well considering my fiance is a dick, for starters,” She comments, tossing the shirt back up at him and rolling her eyes when he catches it with a smirk. “And there could be things in that water. I’m not trying to get felt up by a fish.” 

“They’re not going to go near you, babe. The second you enter the water they go as far away as possible.” He takes off his boots and socks, sitting down beside her on the blanket and offering a reassuring smile when she looks up at him. “And if one  _ did _ feel you up, I’d kill it for you.” 

“Aw, thanks babe,” Shepard grins, gently tapping his thigh with her fist. “Enjoy the sun with me, we can discuss me getting in the water in a few minutes.” 

“A reasonable request,"

“To anybody but the Council or the Quarian Admiralty Board, I’m full of them.” He can’t help but chuckle at her comment, watching as she moves to dig through his bag for a couple moments before producing a pair of sunglasses and sliding them onto her face. She goes back to her original position with contented smile, but he can tell she’s thinking of something. “Kaidan?” 

“Yeah Frankie?” 

“I want to take your last name when we tie the knot,” She starts, waiting until he moves to lay on his side with his head propped up on his elbow to continue. His hand gently cups her face, thumb stroking her cheek as he waits for her to continue with her thoughts. “I mean, I was always going to do that but I want to legally change my middle name to Shepard. Francesca Shepard Alenko.”

“Just kick Evelyn right out of your life?” 

“I’m not running around in other systems anymore, no more arguing with Salarians or tea parties with Aria on a semi regular basis. I don’t need to be Evie Shepard anymore, and I really don’t want to be.” 

“No?”

“I hid behind my middle name to protect myself for so long, but I don’t have to do that anymore because I’m not trying to save the galaxy every six months.” She chuckled, and he nodded with a grateful smile. 

“Are you going to let the Council call you Francesca?”

“Hell no.” 

“Are you going to get into the water with me?” His question had her tilting her sunglasses down to properly look at him, and he put on his best smile to try and seduce her into the water. 

“You know what that look does to me, Kaidan,”

“Is that a yes?”

“Let me take my shorts off and I’ll be down there.” 

He’s got his shorts off and is in the water by the time she has her shorts off, and she stands on their blanket with her hands on her hips as he excitedly jumps into the water and scares off the fish she was worried about earlier. Was she expected to do all of  _ that _ , or would she be able to casually walk in? Was the water cold? She dearly hoped the water wasn’t cold, the sun was feeling so nice on her skin and-

“You’re way too dry up there!” Kaidan called, interrupting her water related prayers and spurring her into making her way towards the edge of the water. She slowly dips a toe into the water, eyes shutting tight when she feels that it is, in fact, colder than she was ready to deal with. “You’ll adjust, Shepard.” 

“I know, but it’s cold right now.” She complains as she steps in the water, cringing but continuing until she’s up to her shoulders and only a few feet away from him. “Are you pleased?” 

“Very,” He grins, the corners of his eyes crinkling in the way she loved so much as he pulls her close against him. On instinct her legs wrap around his waist and her hands settle on his shoulders, and he tilts his head back to press his forehead to hers. “I’ve got you.“

“Or is it  _ I _ who has  _ you _ ?” She asks, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her fingers comb through his hair, and the look in her eyes is nothing short of pure adoration for the man in her arms. “Maybe you fell into my cunning trap to get you exactly where I wanted you?”

“Holding you up in a cold lake that you didn’t really want to go into?” 

“All part of my elaborate scheme,”

“These are the tactics that won the war, I’m sure.” He teases as her hands move to cup his cheeks before her lips meet his.

It’s in this moment that neither of them give a damn that they’re not in private. It’s in this moment that they’re not the first human Spectres, they’re not war heroes, they’re not even soldiers. They’re just Francesca and Kaidan, engaged to be married and making out in the middle of a lake.

“Y’know,” He breathes as they separate, leaving only centimeters of space between their mouths as she smiles down at him. “If I loved you any less, I’d drop you right now.” 

“It’ll be a long trip for you when I take the car and come pick you up in four days.” 

“Ouch,” He winced playfully, adjusting his hold on her. “So no lake sex if I drop you?”

“No sex for the rest of the month.” 

“Tempted to risk it,” 

“You’d better not.” Her legs tighten around his waist and he grins as he tips her backwards just enough that her ponytail grazes the water. “Kaidan!” 

“Do you trust me?” His forehead is still pressed to hers, her eyes darting around until they settle on his once again and he can tell just by her gaze that she does. He knows that he doesn’t ever have to ask her this question, but he loves to hear her tell him-

“With my life, Kaidan.”

He grins as he leans in, keeping them bent towards the water as his lips meet hers once more. The hand on her thigh slides up to her hip, fingers deftly undoing the thin strings keeping her bottom piece secure on her body. She doesn’t stop him, hand moving from his cheek back to his hair to keep his mouth connected to hers as he moves his hand along her back to get to the other set of strings. It’s just as he gets into position to pull that knot apart that the two Spectres freeze upon hearing a rustling in the trees and Kaidan’s moving them to where Shepard can stand on her own two feet so he can help her fix her bottoms. 

“I wasn’t expecting anybody to be around this time of year,” He comments, getting a raised eyebrow from his fiancee as he looks around her to see just who was intruding on their time alone. “Especially not a family.” 

“Why not?”

“Kids are typically still in school around this time of year.” He informs, and she shrugs as she gives her bottoms a gentle tug to test his knot before standing on her tiptoes to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. Her toes digging into the sand is a feeling she definitely doesn’t like, but she’ll deal with it because Kaidan is obviously bothered by the fact that there’s a family at the lake with them.

“Why is a family at the lake such a big deal, Kaidan?” She asks, head tilted to the side as she looks up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Is there a secret maple syrup tap you don’t want them finding?” 

“Well we were about to have sex and I’ve got a growing hard-on for my sexy fiancee, so I’m kinda stuck in the water until it leaves or they leave.” 

“Who cares if they see your boner? They’ve got one shot to comment and I’ll give ‘em ‘the look’,” Shepard assures with a smile, her hands slipping into his to stop him from adjusting his briefs for the fourth time in the last minute. “Or you could just biotically lift their kid.  _ That’d _ be funny.” 

“And to think  _ you’re _ the poster child of the Alliance  _ and  _ the Council.” He teases, leaning in to kiss her one more time. “Wanna race?” 

“Yeah, because staring at my ass is going to make your boner go away.” 

“How would-  _ oh _ , you’re suggesting you’d win?” 

“Of course I’d win. I’m Captain Shepard.” 

* * *

It’s when the family moves into the lake that the couple has to tone down the extent of their racing, but the score is seventeen-to-two and Kaidan isn’t fond of losing. But his body is tired, and he knows that hers is too, but she’d be able to kick his ass one more time so they had an even twenty races.  Luckily she doesn’t make that request, instead treading over to him and moving so she was behind him. Her arms are loosely wrapped around his neck as he moves and he’s pulling her along with him until he can stand up straight and help her get onto his back properly.

“Kicking your ass is hard work.” She yawns, nuzzling into his neck as he chuckles. “I’m definitely feeling this in the morning.”

“Who said this was over?” He asks, adjusting her body before dropping her back into the water and heading towards the shore. 

“Kaidan Alenko!” Shepard called as she surfaced, pushing her hair out of her face before she swam towards the shore. “You’re awful!” 

“It’s part of why you love me, though, Shep.” He grins, offering his hands despite everything telling him that she was just going to pull him back into the water. He was surprised when she actually accepted his offer and stood on her two feet before she jumped into his arms. “You’re all pruny babe.” 

“You’re one to talk,” She counters, but still lifts her hand for a closer inspection. “The first time I took a bath on my own I got terrified when my skin did this and only took showers after that.” 

“Why does that not surprise me?” He asks as he sets her down beside their blanket, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her shoulders before grabbing his own towel to start drying off with. “Do you want to hang out here for a bit or head back?”

“Let’s hang out here and dry off a bit more,” She suggests, looking back towards the lake but frowning when she saw the clouds that appeared to be heading towards them. “Looks like rain, babe.”

“Yeah, it does,” He confirms, biting his lip for a moment before smiling down at her. “But we’ve got some time before it comes in, don’t worry.”


	4. Card Tricks

They beat the rain by an hour, giving Kaidan time to spray Shepard down with mosquito repellent and allowing her to do the same to him despite not at all being concerned about bugs on him. He knew her focus was making sure they didn’t end up on her because of him, which was a valid stance, so he didn’t complain when she pulled him away from cooking their dinner to protect him from the “tiny little fuckers”. Their burgers were only  _slightly_ charred on one side and she thought it made them more flavorful. 

She takes over cooking when he remembers to place the external cover over the skylight, and notices the way she grimaces at the fact that it’s a transparent cover. She doesn’t say anything about it so he doesn’t comment, making quick work of fastening the cover to the tent poles and ensuring that they wouldn’t have to deal with rain inside their tent. 

It’s as they’re eating dinner in their camping chairs outside the tent that the rain starts, and they take refuge in their tent to finish their meal before Shepard pulls the deck of cards out of her backpack. 

“Up for a friendly game, General Alenko?” She asks with a smirk, opening the pack and sliding the deck into her hands. He knows if he declines she’ll set up a game of solitaire or free cell and talk to him as she works it out, but he’s enraptured by how confident she looks (despite being  _ terrible _ at most competitive card games). 

“Sure, what do you have in mind?”

“Have you ever played strip Go-Fish?”

“You’re joking,”

“You know I am,” She laughs, leaning back against her backpack as she starts to shuffle the cards. “Since you lost ever-so-gracefully at the lake, you can pick the game.”

“Give me the chance to redeem myself?”

“Something like that.” She hands him the deck to be cut and watches as he does so. After hearing the story about his run-in with the Vorcha mafia, she knew that she had to watch his hands when they were playing cards because his sleight of hand was incredible. “Name the game.”

He starts them off with Golf, a game he had picked up from brothers while she was in the hospital after the war. This was a game that didn’t require a lot of skill, so she didn’t have to worry about bluffing or trying to figure out if he was, which was why he picked that one to start. He wanted to ease her into the ego killer that was her trying to beat him at card games. Out of seven games they both win three by great margins, and he barely wins his fourth by two points. 

“What’s my prize for winning?” He asks, watching as she starts to shuffle the cards again. She looks up from her shuffling and holds her hand out, to which he smiles sheepishly and hands over the king he had slipped the last time he shuffled. 

“What do you want for winning?” Her question is accompanied by her eyes meeting his and he can’t help but lean in to kiss her. “Is that it?”

“I’ll take more, if you’ll let me.” 

“Woah there, Casanova,” She chuckles, checking her watch before stealing another kiss from him. “It’s only seven o’clock.” 

“Really? I could have sworn it was later.” He checks his own watch and his eyes widen slightly at the fact that it is, in fact, only ten minutes after seven. “I must be getting old,”

“Must be?” She repeats, chuckling as she continues to shuffle. "You mean the grey hairs weren't telling you that much?"

"I started going grey when I was placed under your command, Frankie." She sets the deck down between them and he cuts it for her before she picks it up to shuffle some more. "Wrex started feeling his age, Garrus got some pretty gnarly scars, Liara stopped calling herself 'young' after you saved the Citadel the first time, and don't get me started on Tali."

"You think you're funny?" Shepard asks, eyebrow raised as she bit her lip to keep from smiling. 

"Hilarious." 

“Next game?"

“Your pick,” He reminds, and she nods with a thoughtful smile as she cuts the deck before shuffling again. “But I think we need to establish some terms.” 

“For?”

“What we get when we win.”

“You’re going to get laid tonight if you want it, Kaidan,” She assures with a smirk, looking up at him before she starts dealing. “We’re playing Hold ‘Em.”

“Sounds dangerous for you,”

“Maybe I fake a bad poker face to help the morale of my crew?” She suggests, looking down at her cards and biting her cheek to keep from making a face at them. She knows he’s watching her closely, because she actually did have a terrible poker face when her life didn’t depend on it. “I feel like knowing that I’m not perfect will make them feel better.” 

“Anybody who has seen you after a few drinks mixed by Liara’s heavy hand knows that you’re not perfect.” 

“That was one time-”

“That you remember.” 

“Is there another time?” She asks, placing three cards face-up on the space between them. It’s with cautious eyes that she looks at the Jack of hearts, Ace of clubs, and Queen of diamonds before looking back at her own hand. She had the ace of hearts and a ten of hearts. Why she kept this hand, she’d never know and would definitely blame Kaidan’s face for it. 

“Vega’s birthday party.” He smirks, watching her eyes widen. “I bet my shirt, by the way.”   


“I see your shirt and raise my boots.” She bluffed confidently, her smirk faltering when she remembered his earlier statement. “What happened at Vega’s birthday party?” 

“You got pretty wasted babe,” He responded, pulling the turn card and placing it on the table. Ten of spades, if a king popped up on the river she’d be set, but her two pair was already looking good. “I cut you off after you tried to give Vega a strip tease, and you told me I was ruining your life, then you started crying in the bathroom because Vega’s dog came to cuddle with you.”

“He has a cute dog, Kaidan, I bet it's not the only time I've cried about it being cute.” She shrugged, not remembering  _ anything  _ from Vega’s party other than singing Happy Birthday at the beginning and taking a picture with him. “But I don’t remember that happening.”

“Very few do.” He commented, placing down the river card and Shepard bit her lip when she saw the three of spades. “Not what you wanted?”

“Nah, but I’ve got two pair aces high so I think I’m okay.”

“Yeah, but I’ve got a straight, so…” He trails off as he shows his hand, holding the king of hearts and three of clubs and she wants to hit him for keeping a trash hand and getting so lucky. “I’ll happily take your shirt and boots.” 

There was a plus side to this, Shepard muses as she and Kaidan work on unlacing her boots. She didn’t bother with putting a bra on after taking off her bikini top, so the game just might tip in her favor. Kaidan never could resist getting an eyeful whenever he had the chance, and was honest to a fault when he had her naked in front of him. His  reaction is exactly what she expects, Kaidan’s soft gasp making her feel empowered as she lifts the N7 issue tshirt over her head and tosses it over by her bag. 

“I know you too well to know that you didn’t plan this, but I’m starting to feel like you did.”

“Yeah, no. I actually thought I had a chance with that hand.” She shrugs, watching his hands as he shuffles the cards before dealing them out. He’s trying extremely hard to keep his focus on her face or his hand, and she’s smiling down at her hand in amusement. Purely at him, though, because her hand was trash. “I fold.” 

“Not even going to try?

“I have no chance with a king and a two off suit, and you and I both know that.” 

“Doesn’t stop me from wishing you’d try it.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Shepard mutters, looking up at the sky through the skylight. “It’s looking like it’ll storm, Kaidan.”

“If it gets bad and you want to go home, we can,” Kaidan comments, looking up and grimacing when he saw how dark the clouds were getting. “I don’t want to chance either of us getting sick out here.” 

“Let’s not make any plans just yet,” Shepard suggests, looking up to see his impressed expression. “You’re still the boss, but I don’t want to run home at the first glance of ‘bad weather’.” 

“That wouldn’t be very N7 of you at all.”

“Can it, General,” She smirks as she deals out the next hand, having an awful feeling about how this game is going to go but not wanting to forfeit so easy. He'd never let her hear the end of it. 

“Aye aye, ma’am.” Kaidan spoke with a wink and lazy salute, earning himself a mumbled “fuck you” from Shepard as she checks her cards. She plays this hand and loses, and Kaidan is more than happy to watch as she stands and makes a small show out of getting her shorts off. “I know you’re terrible at poker, but are you even trying?”

“I am legitimately trying, Kaidan. Maybe you could go easy on me?” She asks, hopeful glint in her eye as he smiles at her. 

“Nah, I kinda like how bad you are at this.” 

“Or you just like how easy it is to get me naked.” 

“That’s just a bonus,” He grins as she sits back down, noting that she was actually closer than she had originally been. “And it’s not even my birthday.” 

“But if you want something special on your birthday, let me know because that’s coming up.”

“The only thing I can think of right now is you,” Kaidan murmurs, pulling her to sit on his lap and grinning at the way her breath hitched when he kissed the hollow of her throat. “The things you do to me are unbelievable, babe.” 

“Oh, I believe it,” She smirks, rolling her hips against his groin to provide emphasis. “The question is: what are  _ you _ going to do about it?”

“I guess this is the part where we find out,”


	5. Migraines and Massive Realizations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaidan gets slammed with a migraine and Frankie gets slammed with the realization that she's not the only one with some some unresolved issues.

He knows what’s going to happen before he fully gets the opportunity to process it. A migraine in full force while he’s supposed to be showing the love of his life the time of her life while they’re camping. It’s all he can do to shift so that he can press his forehead into her back between her shoulder blades to block out the light coming in through the little window of their tent as he holds her just a bit tighter, knowing that this one was going to have him out of commission for the day at the very least. 

_ ‘I’m so sorry, Frankie.’  _ He thinks, pressing a kiss to her skin before he finally settles. 

It’s just bad luck; he hasn’t had a migraine like this in years. After the Reaper War his migraines had toned down a bit, he and Dr. Chakwas agreeing that it must have been related to his number of stressors decreasing significantly. He still got migraines, but he was able to work through them with substantial effort and some pain meds that didn’t really work. This, however, was going to have him in bed all day. Even if he tried to be functional, being outside would kill him due to how bright it would be. The rain hitting the tent certainly wasn’t helping him either. 

He didn’t want to go home so early, but if his migraine got any worse they might have to. Not that it would make any difference where they were if his migraine managed to get worse, but the constant pattering of the rain hitting their tent from all sides wasn’t going to put him in any better shape. The pain associated with his migraines really didn’t change based on location because the only thing that helped him feel better was the woman in his arms, and even she who saved the galaxy couldn’t completely take this pain away. 

“Judging by the rain, I can assume that we’re not having a hot breakfast this morning?” She asks, her voice raspy like it always was when she was just waking up. The only response he can muster is a grunt, lazily raising his arm to point towards the window.

It takes her a moment to take in her surroundings, his tight grip on her waist, and warm forehead pressed to her back and connect that to his pointing to realize that he wasn’t in good shape. It takes her ten seconds (he’s counting) to get the window covered before she’s back in the sleeping bag, this time facing him so he can properly press his face into her neck as she holds him close and she starts to gently massage his scalp. 

“Hey K,” She whispers into his hair, waiting until she feels him tap her back to continue. “Let me know when you’re hungry or thirsty. My bag with the snacks is within arms reach so I won’t even have to move to get that stuff for you.” He hums into her skin, managing a smile when she presses a kiss to the top of his head. She was exactly what he needed, when he needed it, and he wondered if she knew that. “Also, if it gets really bad and you’d rather be dealing with this at the house, we can go back. It won’t ruin the trip for me, because if you aren’t having a good time it’s not going to be any fun for me.”

He feels better knowing that he has an out, but he doesn’t think his pride will let him cancel their camping trip on day three. He just needed a couple hours to rest, relax, and try to figure out how to live the rest of his life without ever leaving her warm embrace. His work with the Alliance would be much easier, because almost everyone respected Captain Shepard so much that they were afraid of upsetting her. The Council would most likely stop giving him assignments that put him on the other side of the galaxy if she gave them ‘the look’ while she held him. 

But he didn’t think the Council would respond too well to him and his fiancee cuddling naked in the middle of the Presidium. 

“What are you thinking about?” 

“How badly I never want to leave this spot.”  

“You don’t ever have to,” She assures, and he can hear the smile in her tone as she speaks. “I’m not going anywhere, Kaidan.”

“I love you so much, Francesca Shepard.” 

“And I love you, too, Kaidan Alenko.” Her response is accompanied by a kiss to the top of his head as her fingers continued to massage his scalp with just the right amount of pressure while making sure to be gentle around his implant. “But you should get some rest, babe, it might help you feel better. Or at least you’ll be able to block out the noise while you’re asleep.” 

“But I wanna talk to you.” He mumbles into her neck, getting a quiet chuckle out of his fiancee as she switched from massaging to gently scratching his head. “Frankie,” 

“You can keep talking to me Kaidan, you  _ are _ the boss.” 

“Damn straight.” 

* * *

After about half an hour of a mumbled conversation about whatever came to his mind, Kaidan is asleep again and Shepard has a moment to think and plan their next step if his migraine doesn’t go away easily. She wasn’t going to let Kaidan suffer through his migraine in a tent for multiple days when they had a warm house and comfortable bed an hour’s drive away. The house had better curtains and adjustable temperature so she could actually do something about him being too hot or too cold. Kaidan naturally ran warm due to his biotics, but with his migraines he often broke into a fever and, as much as she loved him, she wasn’t trying to cuddle him outside of the bundle of sleeping bag and blankets they had.

But convincing him that they would need to be home for his benefit would be tricky, if it came to that.  

Kaidan was a proud man, and with that he was a very stubborn man. After everything they had been through together, he tried to shift more into being her rock while she was his soft place to land, and she really didn’t mind it considering their complete switch in amount of responsibilities. 

But in him becoming her rock, he’d become much less open to admitting when he needed her help or when he was in pain and she wasn’t sure how to handle that. She knew that she had been like that during the war; her brave face became her constant face and he had to get her out of that, but right now she couldn’t think of a reason for him to always keep a brave face. She had relaxed immensely after being released from the hospital, she  _ hated _ the physical therapy (and was happy to take a break from it) but she wasn’t stuck in the hospital and that was what mattered. But she didn’t know how to break Kaidan out of needing to be brave for her all the time when she didn’t know why he felt he needed to be that way. 

She feels the warmth of his biotics before she sees the soft blue glow envelop her fiance and slowly expand to encase her as well. This only happened when he was troubled, and one glance at his face had her frowning as his once peaceful expression screwed into one of pain. The arms around her waist tighten, and she tightens her hold on him while softly cooing reassurances to her fiance in an effort to ease him from the bad dream he was having.

“Shepard,” He mumbled, his biotic field expanding slowly and causing the walls of the tent to rattle slightly. “Escape pods.”

_ Alchera. _ She thinks with a grimace, knowing that her getting spaced over Alchera was the one thing that they never talked about. Akuze was brought up every now and then because she didn’t trust worms of any size or planetary origin, Horizon was brought up when Kaidan was feeling like a shitty spouse because he  _ still  _ held that over his head, and their armed Citadel standoff was brought up when their friends wanted to test who the more dominant spouse was. But Alchera... Alchera was something that she chose not to think about and he refused to talk about it. It was an unspoken rule among their friends and family. 

Maybe this was why. His ‘tough guy’ exterior wasn’t exactly dominant, but she knew that he had difficulty with discussing topics that he was very emotionally invested in while she could naturally just shrug things off like it was nothing. Maybe he worried that he’d try to talk to her about it and she’d shrug it off despite it being a major event in their relationship? It was a valid concern; she’d shrugged off Akuze the first time he asked about it and if she didn’t have to talk about Horizon she wouldn’t. But the thought of him refusing to speak on Alchera because of him fearing  _ her _ reaction had her feeling sick. 

“Kaidan, babe, I’m right here.” She whispered, her hands moving from his hair to his back and gently tapping in an effort to stir him from his nightmare. “I’m here.” 

“I’m not letting you go,” 

“You don’t have to,” She assured, rubbing his back as his legs started moving against hers. “I’m right here Kaidan, and I promise I’m not going anywhere, but you’ve got to come back to me, babe.” 

He stills suddenly, his body still tense and the crackle of his biotics still filling the air of their tent as he shifts in her arms again. He’s mumbling something against her skin that she can’t decipher, and she pulls back just enough to be able to look down as his eyes slowly open. It takes him a moment to recognize his surroundings and focus on her, and she’s got a small smile on her face as she combs her fingers through his hair. 

“Welcome back,” She greets, leaning in to kiss his forehead as he lets out a small hum. “How’s your migraine?”

“Better, I suppose. Not gone, but it’s more manageable than it was before.” He responds, pulling away from her arms so he can sit up and stretch a bit. “I suppose you want to talk about the nightmare I just had?” 

“Only if you’re ready to,” She tells him, much like he’s told her so many times before, as she sits up beside him and wraps her arms around his shoulders. The tent is cold, but she’s grateful that his biotics keep him warmer than the average human as she presses her nude front to his back. “I got the gist of it, and if you’re not ready to talk about it I’m not going to push you.” 

“Thanks, Frankie.” He whispers, turning his head so he can kiss her cheek. “Dunno what I’d do without you.” 

“Probably starve,” She shrugs, grabbing the supplement bar that was by her pillow and placing it into his hand. “You need to eat something, babe, there was a bit of your biotics on display before you woke up.”

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” His voice is soft as he unwraps the bar, his eyes following her arms as she stretches them in front of him. Her skin is covered in faint scars, but there’s nothing fresh on her skin and he takes a small amount of relief from that.

“Both myself and the tent are in one piece, Kaidan.” She holds back her comment on being worried about him, because she knows that she would not have responded well if he had said something like that to her. He’s an observant guy, so he definitely knows she’s worried, there was no need to comment further on it if he wasn’t ready to talk about it. “If I wasn’t okay, you’d know.” 

“I know,” He sighs, holding the bar close to her face and smiling when she takes a bite of the cherry flavored nutrients. “I worry, though. You’re too tough for your own good sometimes.” 

“Speak for yourself, General.” She teases, nuzzling into his neck as he chuckles. “I love you, Kaidan.”

“I love you, too, Frankie.”


End file.
